The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

I just finished reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and was blown out of the water.  My mom recommended the book, and I couldn't put it down.  Now I'm passing along the recommendation to you.

In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a thirty year-old black woman, died of cervical cancer. Shortly before her death, doctor and researcher George Gey took a biopsy of her tumor and, for the first time in history, was able to culture a line of immortal cells. The cancer cells single handedly launched a medical revolution, and they are responsible for most of the medical breakthroughs over the last 50 years including the polio vaccine, the hepatitis B vaccine, chemotherapy drugs, and AIDs research.

The book tells two stories.  The first is the story of these cells and their medical miracles.  The second is the story of Henrietta family who didn’t find out about the cells until more than 20 years after her death.